Analysis of Sonnet to the Nightingale
John Milton 1608 (Cheapside) – 1674 (Chalfont St Giles)
O nightingale that on yon blooming spray
Warblest at eve, when all the woods are still,
Thou with fresh hopes the Lover’s heart dost fill,
While the jolly Hours lead on propitious May.
Thy liquid notes that close the eye of Day,
First heard before the shallow cuckoo’s bill,
Portend success in love. O if Jove’s will
Have linked that amorous power to thy soft lay,
Now timely sing, ere the rude bird of hate
Foretell my hopeless doom, in some grove nigh;
As thou from year to year hast sung too late
For my relief, yet had’st no reason why.
Whether the Muse or Love call thee his mate,
Both them I serve, and of their train am I.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDCDCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1100111101 111110111 1111010111 101010110101 1101110111 1101010101 0101011111 111100101111 1101101111 0111010111 1111111111 1101111101 1001111111 1111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 643 |
Words | 122 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 490 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 120 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 103 Views
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"Sonnet to the Nightingale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23882/sonnet-to-the-nightingale>.
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